Thursday, March 1, 2012

Daring You To Read… Darkfever by Karen Marie Moning

For my first Daring You To Read post, I chose the first book in one of my favorite series: Darkfever by Karen Marie Moning.

MacKayla, who comes to Dublin to investigate the murder of her sister is a very interesting character. During the course of the series, she changes so much you can hardly recognize her at the end of the series. Jericho Barrons, the other main character is not only sexy as hell, but also a man of so many mysteries. Between him and Mac is so much sexual tension and so many sparks flying you could set a house on fire. Still, they don´t jump into a relationship right away. Because there are a lot of trust issues between Mac and Barrons. And then there´s also V´lane, the equally sexy Fae who also tries to win Mac for his agenda and for himself. Come to think of it, all the characters are multilayered and three dimensional. Each one has his or her own agenda and secrets, but very few of them can be easily labeled as good or evil.

Another reason to read this series is the excellent world building. After I read the first few scenes in Dublin, I wanted to hop on a plane and go there, despite dangerous Fae and all. One of the first things I would visit would be Barrons´ Books and Baubles! Each book adds yet another, more interesting layer to the world Karen Marie Moning has created.

Throughout the books there are always enough mysteries to keep you guessing and just enough answers that you don´t get frustrated while reading. You never know exactly whom to trust, because nobody seems to tell Mac the whole truth. There are numerous twits and turns you won´t see coming, and the parts of how Mac deals with her sister´s death and other events of the book are extremely well written.

There´s one other thing I´d like to mention: you can see just how much effort Karen Marie Moning puts into creating her world if you visit her homepage. Not only has she created a soundtrack for her Fever world. Just a few days ago, Karen Marie Moning announced that a whole Tarot deck has been created by an artist inspired by the Fever world (which is also of some significance later in the books).

You see, there are so many reasons why you should read this book! Darkfever was published back in 2006 and the main story arc ended with Shadowfever, which was released in January 2011. There´s going to be a spinoff with another character from the series set in the same world and word has it that there will be at least two more book featuring MacKayla and Barrons as main characters.

MacKayla Lane’s life is good. She has great friends, a decent job, and a car that breaks down only every other week or so. In other words, she’s your perfectly ordinary twenty-first-century woman. Or so she thinks…until something extraordinary happens. When her sister is murdered, leaving a single clue to her death–a cryptic message on Mac’s cell phone–Mac journeys to Ireland in search of answers. The quest to find her sister’s killer draws her into a shadowy realm where nothing is as it seems, where good and evil wear the same treacherously seductive mask. She is soon faced with an even greater challenge: staying alive long enough to learn how to handle a power she had no idea she possessed–a gift that allows her to see beyond the world of man, into the dangerous realm of the Fae…. As Mac delves deeper into the mystery of her sister’s death, her every move is shadowed by the dark, mysterious Jericho, a man with no past and only mockery for a future. As she begins to close in on the truth, the ruthless Vlane–an alpha Fae who makes sex an addiction for human women–closes in on her. And as the boundary between worlds begins to crumble, Mac’s true mission becomes clear: find the elusive Sinsar Dubh before someone else claims the all-powerful Dark Book–because whoever gets to it first holds nothing less than complete control of the very fabric of both worlds in their hands….

8 People left their mark on “Daring You To Read… Darkfever by Karen Marie Moning”

You should really read the following books. The book, the story and the characters get even more complex and enthralling. It can be an advantage as well, because there are some cruel cliffhangers at the end of the last books. I would recommend to read them from back to back when you have a few free days on your hands! 🙂

This series is amazing, definitely among my favourites !! Mac is an awesome heroine and Barrons is .. I think there really are no words to describe this character .. I simply love him !! I’m planning to re-read the Fever series soon because I miss the world and the characters very much .. Best pick ever Christine 🙂 !!

I miss them too! My last re-read was around Christmas last year! 🙂I don´t know if I should be excited or anxious about the release of Iced. I liked Dani´s character, but I´m a little bit afraid it won´t live up to the books featuring Mac and Barrons as main characters.

I love this series too! I read all of them in a short period of time. I highly recommend it too! I can’t wait for the spin off series. It’s on my wish list. I think in comes out in October 2012, just in time for Halloween.

When I first starting reading your description–I thought this was going to be realistic and similar to Ian Rankin (who I like a lot!). But then I realized it was more fantasy/paranormal with the Fae element. It totally drew my attention!